Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Following the great confession of Peter that Jesus was the Christ (He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Mark 8:29) comes the great revelation from the lips of JESUS about His FUTURE and it is SHOCKING to say the least. The predominant thought regarding the Messiah coming into the world was to RESCUE God’s people and set up a KINGDOM. Jesus now tells of REJECTION and not just rejection but of DEFEAT as He will suffer and be killed.
Let what you just read sink in as if you were one of the disciples there.
Think about what Jesus just said as if you were Peter, who just made the great confession and truly believed Jesus was the CHRIST – the one longed for. How stunned are you?
While He does not say in this verse that He is NOT going to be KING, He is telling them that He is not going to be KING because He is going to be killed. Can you hear the disciples whispering among each other? Did He say He is going to be KILLED?
YET THAT IS NOT ALL THAT WAS SAID in Mark 8:31. He tells them what had to be the most unbelievable thing ever, saying (what shall we say here) the most ludicrous (amazing to us now but not at that moment), weird, astonishing, crazy, again I say an unbelievable statement. He tells them after three days, He will RISE AGAIN.
Yeah – we need to pause for a second on that. He not only predicted that He would be REJECTED, He predicted His RESURRECTION.
Head scratching at the least for the disciples (and PETER for sure) Mark 8:31 is the turning point in the ministry of Jesus. He came with a purpose, and that purpose was to die for mankind’s sin. He was born to die. Mark 8:31 lets us know that what would happen later at Calvary was not defeat but rather exactly what was in the mind of God to truly RESCUE sinners and allow them (us) to be a part of the Heavenly kingdom. Today, we can receive Him, or we can reject Him. His story may come across as shocking – weird – ludicrous, but nonetheless, you are going to have to decide what you do with what He has done for you. Receive Him or reject Him?? Make the decision to receive Him – make the decision that you will be glad you made when you stand before Him – for you will one day stand before Him.
You are going to have to decide what you do with what He has done for you.
Continue Strong with gratitude for our SAVIOR,
And remember to DATE the Word